When Bach became Kantor at Leipzig's Thomaskirche in 1723, he had to provide 60 cantatas annually, leading him to revise earlier works like BWV 147 for new occasions.
Recording & Production
The Shoin Women's University Chapel, where this CD was recorded, was built in 1981 with special attention to acoustics, featuring an average resonance of 3.8 seconds.
Performer Biography
Masaaki Suzuki, the director of Bach Collegium Japan, began playing the organ for church services at age 12 and has since gained an international reputation as an organist, harpsichordist, and conductor.
Performer Biography
Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ), founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki, aims to introduce Japanese audiences to period instrument performances of Baroque works, focusing on J.S. Bach and his German Protestant predecessors.
Compositional Technique
Cantata BWV 147 incorporates the chorale melody 'Werde munter, mein Gemüthe', famously known as 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring', which is most effective with chorus and orchestra.
Recording & Production
This recording of Cantata BWV 21, 'Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis', presents the version heard in Leipzig in 1723, differing from a previously recorded Hamburg version.
Composition History
Bach wrote Cantata BWV 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben', in 1716 at the age of 31, originally for the Sunday before Christmas.
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